With Overstreet exclusive and CGC Signings plus two great parties: Stone Brewing’s Hop-con and LA Times Hero Complex!

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 16, 2013) – The Hero Initiative, the charitable organization dedicated to helping veteran comic creators in medical or financial need, is travelling into Comic-Con International in San Diego July 23-27 at the San Diego Convention center. We have exclusives, parties and special guests throughout the weekend at booth #5003 that you will not want to miss!

It’s an anniversary for the Hero Initiative and The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. This year marks the fifth consecutive year Gemstone Publishing and Hero have teamed up to raise money for comic creators in need. Harkening back to the character’s earliest appearances, Wolverine is featured with the Hulk and Wendigo on the cover for The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #44 Hero Initiative Edition. Returning even further to Wolverine’s roots, the Hero-exclusive cover is illustrated by Herb Trimpe, who teamed with a pair of superstars, inker Tom Palmer and colorist Laura Martin, for the piece. Gemstone Publishing’s Creative Director Mark Huesman designed the logo and trade dress.

This exclusive, 500-copy, limited hardcover edition will go on sale at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Wednesday, July 23, at our booth. An extremely limited number of copies will be available from Hero’s website and through a select group of participating retailers. There will be no softcover edition of this version, and it will retail for $35.

We hope to see you to kick things off Wednesday night—if you already have your ticket for Hop-Con 2.0: The w00tstout Launch Festival! The great event put on by Stone Brewing Co. is sold out, and features an amazing exclusive w00tstout beer with label drawn by the legendary Dave Gibbons! Make sure and get your tickets early for NEXT year!

Fans who like to get their books signed and authenticated by CGC for Signature Series will definitely want to check out Hero’s exclusive signing with 17 top creators! Hero is the exclusive CGC Signature Series facilitator at the con for Amanda Conner, Chuck Dixon, Kevin Eastman, Dave Gibbons, Sina Grace, Brian Haberlin, Dan Jurgens, Andy Lanning, Ken Lashley, David Lloyd, Ron Marz, Danny Miki, Denny O’Neil, Jimmy Palmiotti, Louis Simonson, Walt Simonson and Chip Zdarsky!

Bring your books to the CGC booth, #901, NO later than Friday, July 25 at 5 p.m. Cost is $38 plus return shipping, and you don’t have to wait in lines!

And some great friends of Hero will be appearing at our booth, #5003, as well. Check out Ken Lashley on Thursday from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., and Dan Jurgens on Friday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. and Denny O’Neil Friday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

About The Hero Initiative

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book artists and craftsmen in need. Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $500,000 to the comics veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.HeroInitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.

The best small comic convention in America announces its return with a tribute to artist and teacher Joe Kubert!

On Saturday May 10th, 2014 The Hawthorne High School Comic Book Convention returns for its 7th go-round. It will have all the features that have made it a very special event on the comic book convention calendar.

The Hawthorne High School Cartooning and Hawthorne High School Art Clubs are sponsoring the event. Faculty Advisors are art teachers Allan Rosenberg, Danielle Russo and social studies teacher Matthew Ambrose. The students of the two clubs are the heart and soul of the show as they run the show and organize every aspect of the event. Their art will be displayed in a special exhibition. The convention is part of the Art Department’s month long celebration of the Arts which include the convention, visits to art museums, a student art show and visits to the school from professional artists.

The convention is a fundraiser for the Art Department and includes an auction featuring original art, signed books and other comic collectables donated by our guests and others from the comic book industry. This has become one of our most anticipated events each year with lots of folks winning wonderful treasures. The auction will be happening at 2:30PM in the cafeteria.

We will be having art lessons running throughout the day available to all attendees. Our guests will also speak about careers in art.

This year we will be paying tribute to one of the greats of comics and Illustration: Joe Kubert: A great cartoonist and a great art educator. The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art is one of the leading schools teaching graphic arts in the world. We are inviting graduates from The Joe Kubert School to appear as guests. A representative from the school will be with us. This tribute is a very special occasion for art teacher Allan Rosenberg. Allan’s favorite cartoonist when he was in high school was Joe Kubert and Joe was partially responsible for Allan becoming an art teacher through the example Mr. Kubert set.

Many of our guests will be available at their tables for portfolio reviews, so budding young artists bring your work.
The Hawthorne Convention is the friendliest and most exciting comic-con around. You will have unheard of access to comic creators with short lines and extremely friendly creators. If a creator is at The Hawthorne Convention you can be sure they love comics and they love meeting fans!
Here is all the important information you need:

The most amazing artists in the world have come together to celebrate thirty years of Stan Sakai’s marvelous samurai rabbit saga, Usagi Yojimbo, in a new oversized hardcover benefit book: The Sakai Project: Artists Celebrate Thirty Years of “Usagi Yojimbo”!

“It has been an absolute pleasure publishing Stan’s work over the years, and recently collaborating with him directly on 47 Ronin,” said Dark Horse’s president and founder, Mike Richardson. “With the thirtieth anniversary of his most beloved creation, Usagi, and in a time of need for Stan and his family, we are honored to publish this tribute to Stan and his work. We are donating all of the proceeds to Stan and his wife, Sharon. We hope you will join us in honoring one of the comics industry’s shining lights.”

The participating artists bring their own interpretations and their own styles to the subject, making this book a one-of-a-kind treasure.

The Sakai Project is produced in association with the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS). All proceeds from this book will go to Stan and Sharon Sakai.

The Sakai Project will be released on July 23. Pre-order with your local comics retailer.

About Dark Horse

Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Brian Wood, Gerard Way, Felicia Day, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Neal Adams, and Jim Steranko, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Its successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Mass Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, EVE Online, Halo, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of both creator-owned content and licensed comics material.

Marvel Entertainment has released their panel and booth signing schedule for Comic Con International in San Diego. Highlights include Stan Lee, director Joss Whedon, Hayley Atwell, the cast and crew of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Agent Coulson himself, Clark Gregg! Plus many writers and artists from the House of Ideas such as Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, John Romita Jr, Sara Pichelli, Mark Brooks, Jeph Loeb, and more!

**UPDATE: Dave Gibbons will not be able to take part in this year’s event.**

Press Release:

The Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce the next group of confirmed guest for the 2013 show, taking place the weekend of September 7-8, 2013. Mark Buckingham, Dave Gibbons, Adam Hughes, Paul Levitz, George Perez, Walter Simonson, Louise Simonson, and Allison Sohn will all be attending our 14th Annual show !

Mark Buckingham, who is best-known and most-celebrated for his work on the long-running Vertigo title Fables, began his career in 1990 working with Neil Gaiman on Miracleman from Eclipse Comics. Working on such titles as 2000 AD, Hellblazer, and Shade, the Changing Man, he became a mainstay at DC Comics after taking over art duties on Fables with issue #6. His run on the popular imprint title has earned him four Eisner Awards, including Best New Series in 2003, Best Serialized Story in 2005 and 2006, and Best Artist/Penciler/Inker in 2007.

Legendary artist Dave Gibbons is best known for his collaboration with Alan Moore on the seminal mini-series,Watchmen. With a career that spans more than four decades, Gibbons has provided artowrk for 2000 AD, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics, and has worked with such characters as Judge Dredd, Captain America, Superman and Batman. He is currently working on The Secret Service with Mark Millar though Marvel’s Icon imprint.

As far as cover artists working in comics today, Adam Hughes is among the very best. A 12-year veteran of Gaijin Studios, Hughes is most widely recognized for his pin-up style renditions of female characters, especially over the course of his long runs as cover artist on Wonder Woman and Catwoman. His most recent work includes the Before Watchmen mini-series, Dr. Manhattan. Hughes won the Harvey Award for Best Cover Artist in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Paul Levitz has been a mainstay at DCComics since 1972, serving as a writer, editor, and President (2002 – 2009) over the tenure of his career. His name is synonymous with the Legion of Super-Heroes, which he wrote from 1977-1979 and 1981-1989, and he created such notable characters as the Stalker, the Earth-2 Huntress, and Lucien the Librarian. Levitz has since returned to writing the Legion of Super-Heroes for the New 52, as well as the Earth-2 centric book, World’s Finest.

Writer/artist George Perez established himself as a fan-favorite creator during his lengthy runs on Marvel Comics’ Avengers, and DC Comics’ Teen Titans and Wonder Woman. Over the course of his 40-year career, Perez has drawn nearly every character in both the Marvel and DC Universes, and has worked on such ground breaking events as the Infinity Gauntlet, JLA/Avengers, and Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. In 2011, he reunited with long-time collaborator Marv Wolfman to publish the long-awaited New Teen Titans: Games graphic novel. Currently, he is working as the artist for DC’s World’s Finest with Paul Levitz.

Walter Simonson is best known for his run on The Mighty Thor throughout the 1980s. His classic run was recently collected by Marvel in The Mighty Thor Omnibus by Walter Simonson, a massive tome which featured issues #337-355, #357-369, and #371-382, as well as the mini-series, Balder the Brave #1-4. In addition to his work on Thor, Simonson has worked on such titles as Detective Comics, Avengers, and Marvel’s Star Wars comics. In 2010, Simonson received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented at the Harvey Awards.

Louise Simonson began her career in as an editor in 1974 before moving on to writing for Marvel Comics in 1984. She is best known for her work on Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, and Superman: The Man of Steel. In addition to comics, Simonson is an accomplished novelist, having published 14 books between 1993 and 2009.

Sketch card artist Allison Sohn’s work has been showcased in several trading card sets, including: Star Wars Galaxy Series 4 and 5 and the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection; Women of Marvel; Indiana Jones Heritage; Lord of the Rings Masterpieces, Series 1 and 2; and the Red Sonja 35th Anniversary. In addition, she provided the exclusive artwork for both Star Wars Celebration IV and V. In 2011, Sohn was the feature of a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con International called Comic-Con How-To: Sketching with Allison Sohn, in which she demonstrated her craft using Copic markers.

“We are so excited to able to announce these great guests for next year’s show,” said Marc Nathan, show promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. “It’s not even 2013 yet, and with Mark, Dave, Adam, Paul, George, Walter, Louise, and Allison joining the list of guests, the level of top-tier talent for the show is just getting better and better!”

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

Comics legend Walt Simonson signs at Jim Hanley’s Universe on Wednesday September 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm to celebrate the release of his new graphic novel from DC Comics The Judas Coin.

Please note that in order to participate in the signing, customers must purchase at least one of the following books between 9/12/12 and 9/19/12:
Avengers 27, Avengers 28, Avengers 29, Avengers 30, Alien:TPB: The Illustrated Story, The Judas Coin, or any selection from the JHU Exclusive ‘Walt Simonson Classics Grab bag’ (*See Front Counter for details*).

About the Book:
This centuries-spanning original graphic novel from legendary writer/artist Walter Simonson cleverly ties the Biblical story of Judas to the DC Universe. Simonson shows how one of the silver coins Judas was paid to betray Jesus has had an impact on the DC Universe, with chapters starring The Golden Gladiator (70 A.D.), The Viking Prince (900 A.D.), Captain Fear (1740) and Bat Lash (1880). The centerpiece of the book is an epic battle between Batman and Two-Face. The story blasts into the future as well, with a final chapter set in the year 2070.

WaltSimonson and Louise “Weezie” Simonson are coming back to HeroesCon!! Walt exploded on to the comics scene with Manhunter in the 70s and when on to influence generations with his incredible work on The Mighty Thor, X-Men/Teen Titans crossover, and X-Factor! Louise is a writer known for great runs on Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, and Superman: The Man of Steel! We are honored these great creators and great people are taking the time to join us to celebrate our 30th Anniversary!

Herb Trimpe has worked on dozens of titles for Marvel Comics including The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Shogun Warriors, Godzilla and more. Of course he also illustrated that awesome 1st appearance of Wolverine in Hulk #181!

Georges Jeanty is like family at HeroesCon–the longtime penciller of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer comic series has also drawn Green Lantern, Superboy, Superman, and tons more! We’re happy he’s making the trek from his new home on the West Coast to see us!